The Story Behind The Big Indian
The Moving Indian Finds His Forever Home
By: Gary Dulanski
You may have seen him in your travels to or from Buffalo- a big Native American statue reaching skyward palm up. In his early years, the Chief held a bottle of beer on the palm of his right hand as the proud mascot of the Iroquois Beer Brewery in Jamestown and Buffalo, New York. In fact there are two of them both are named “Big Chief”, and these days they make their home on the Cattaraugus County Indian Reservation in Irving NY off of Milestrip Road where you will find the Big Indian Smoke Shop, which, due to the Indian’s presence, is garnering roadside notoriety for the smoke shop and its owners.
The twin statue that hailed from Jamestown was on top of the Tom Conti, Inc Beer Distributing Company in Brooklyn Square from 1962-1977 and served as colorful adverting for the company until an Urban Renewal Project called for the building to be torn down. There was one special woman in Jamestown who had her heart set on the statue and her husband, Howard Crossley purchased it for her and they brought the 800lb., 28’ tall fiberglass statue to their home in Sinclairville where he would stand prominent for the next 38 years and garner the attention of another special woman. “Everyday on my way to class at JCC I would pass by that statue and just be in awe of it”, says Julie Stanton, wife of Jerry Stanton (Stanton’s Garage and son of the new proud owners of the statue). Julie later met and fell in love with their son and the two would one day be wed next to the statue. They had a lot of fun with it as it was in their backyard also; they recanted several drinking games that incorporated the statue as the centerpiece of the show.
When Jerry and Julie Stanton were set to move to a different neighborhood, Mrs. Crossley decided to sell the statue to make sure it was guaranteed a proper home for many years to come.
His next owner became the proprietors of the Big Indian Smoke Shop who already had a matching replica. Both are 23 feet tall and were built by International Fiberglass in the 1960s.
The histories of Big Chief and his twin brother, who stands a hundred yards away next to the Big Indian Smoke Shop, are so intertwined that their stories can never be satisfactorily separated. They were built by International Fiberglass in the 1960s. An over-sized beer bottle sat on the upturned palm of one Chief; in the palm of the other may have sat a big beer bottle. By 2001 both Big Chiefs had cycled through several owners and had been purchased and moved to their current spots by members of the Seneca Nation, where they advertise discount gas and cigarettes on the Cattaraugus Reservation.
Big Indian Smoke Shop advertising manager John Catalino tells the story of why the now-empty-handed Chiefs were still displayed palms-up. He answered that when the Chiefs were palms-down it “looked like a Nazi salute.” Later on, June 6, 2012, vandals tore the Chief from his spot and tossed him into a ditch. The Smoke Shop temporarily moved its other Chief to the spot to cover it while the Interstate Chief was repaired. He returned in 2013 with his hand palm-up again, and his formerly ripped chest had been replaced with a featureless torso. In 2014 his old chest was restored, and he was securely fixed in a way that would deter future vandalism, and lit at night, to provide more security. The two Chiefs are now virtually identical, and both are frozen in beer-less, and Nazi-less, palm-up positions.
At the Big Indian you will find grocery items, and handmade native jewelry, artwork and pottery. They even have a deli. Proudly serving Costanzo Rolls. With gas sales you might say Big Indian is a one-stop shop as they carry auto parts and seasonal items too; you could say they have everything you need at Big Indian. If you would like more information or to see the Big Indian in person go to: info@bigindiansmokeshop.com Call: 716-934-0370 Store hours as follows: Monday through Sunday 6am – 10pm